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Reviews
The Addiction (1995)
Russel Simmons Presents Def Vampires
The premise is interesting enough: Comparing the addiction of Vampires to that of of a compulsive drug addict. But the product does little to capitalize on the cool concept. Lili Taylor stars as a doctorate candidate whose whole philosophical life changes once she gets bitten by a street-walking vampire. Along the way she recites some Vampire-inspired philosophy, shows the 'hood whose boss, and gets spooked by the always spooky Christopher Walken (whose presence is always welcomed in a film, especially in this dry film). The rest is a mix between gritty realism and unintended camp.
The moments that are supposed to be terrifying suffer from jumbled hand-held camera operating. It seems the idea behind this is to make the audience feel the same way that you would if you were being chased around by a bunch of bloodsucking vampires. The problem, however, is that the combination of both loose editing and horrible camera angles result in many of the supposedly terrifying moments falling flat (Granted, watching actors 'necking' for over an hour and fifteen minutes is somewhat comedic to begin with).
The writing is serviceable: It hits on some of the cliché vampire stuff while also interjecting some nice attempts at philosophy. But in this film, it's hard to reward good intentions. The same can be said of the director's choice of tone and soundtrack (which really takes away from the subtext of the actor's performances by spelling out 'I can just get high all day.' We get it, Vampires=Junkies). Lili Taylor gives one of those rare go-for-broke performances (screaming, slicing, throwing things, and at one point doing a really odd 'straight-jacket' dance on the floor of a room), but sadly her dedication is lost in a film that aims high and scores low.
***By the way, it's shot in black and white-apparently they decided to suck the blood out of the color tints.
On Deadly Ground (1994)
It's deadly all right
The film where Steven Seagal proves that he's much more than just a lousy actor
he's also a lousy director.
Where to begin? There's a nice mix of action star self-indulgence and political commentary on the evils of oil. Seagal is Forrest Taft (?), a no non-sense renegade who plays by his own set of rules for some sort of oil rigging company owned by some guy named Michael Jennings (Michael Caine playing a character who is so evil, that he has jet black hair!). That is, until Forrest's friends start accusing him of turning his back on the environment. Forrest doesn't like that much. Nobody calls him a 'whore' and gets away with it.
After twenty minutes, and a random bar fight, Forrest reads a fourth grade-level computer screen that pretty much spells out how economically dangerous oil rigs can really be
and how his boss is making sure that silly things like the environment don't get in the way of a profit. Rather than develop complex protagonists and antagonists, we get a clear black and white split: Big corporations and oil companies are evil and Eskimos are good-as they help Forrest become spiritually reborn as a 'man-bear' and regain his sights on kicking ass.
Chances are, you weren't watching for plot anyway. But the guilty pleasure parade just keeps on going: dialogue that'll make you smile (best line: 'You didn't find Flint, but you managed to kill an unarmed Eskimo!'), lots of explosions, horrible supporting actors, and a chance for Steven Seagal to play 'the slap game' with one of his judgmental oil workers. "On Deadly Ground" gives Seagal plenty of opportunity to kick ass and arch his eyebrows in a suspicious manner, but the same can't be said about poor Michael Caine. As the film's antagonist, Caine turns in a two dimensional performance that may have been modeled after a villain from "Captain Planet." There's something sad about watching a two time Oscar winner grit his teeth for two hours of screen time. Just laugh at him. He sleeps on a nice pile of money.
All and all
horrible film that will keep you laughing with it's misguided attempts to make an action film about more than just explosions.
I, for one, would suggest that Seagal update this film to reflect the events of the Iraq war. He could start off as an Iraqi, hiding the weapons of mass destruction. Then realize Weapons of Mass Destruction cause harm to society. And along the way, get really p***ed off when he finds out it was all about exploiting the Iraqis out of oil.
Summary: Come for the heavy handed ecological commentary and laughable acting; Stay for a wonderfully over-the-top Michael Caine.